--- title: Russian Oligarch To Give Back James Watson's Auctioned Nobel Medal description: The medal belonged to the U.S. scientist who co-discovered DNA canonical: https://time.com/3627466/watson-nobel-medal-russian-usmanov-auction/ author: Naina Bajekal article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-10T11:51:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T02:43:26.629Z article:section: Science og:title: Russian Oligarch To Give Back James Watson's Auctioned Nobel Medal og:description: The medal belonged to the U.S. scientist who co-discovered DNA og:url: https://time.com/3627466/watson-nobel-medal-russian-usmanov-auction/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3465821b02c59d57/69876deccd1bbae0d76f414c/james-watson-nobel-medal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2383 og:image:height: 1340 og:image:alt: Auction of Nobel Prize medal of James Watson og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Russian Oligarch To Give Back James Watson's Auctioned Nobel Medal twitter:description: The medal belonged to the U.S. scientist who co-discovered DNA twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3465821b02c59d57/69876deccd1bbae0d76f414c/james-watson-nobel-medal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Billionaire Just Paid $4 million for a Nobel Medal Only to Give It Back to the Seller > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=6958593b-aa77-4d33-bf62-4ab8f325eee6&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Friday (1x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Justin Worland, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Senior leaders shaping the climate transition. An engaged audience of executives and decision-makers spanning operating companies, finance, policy, consulting, communications and media. ### TIME Future Proof: key statements * Future Proof is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Future Proof is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=6958593b-aa77-4d33-bf62-4ab8f325eee6&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/subscribe?i=6958593b-aa77-4d33-bf62-4ab8f325eee6&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's climate and energy newsletter? Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Naina Bajekal](https://time.com/author/naina-bajekal/)  ## Naina Bajekal Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME. Dec 10, 2014 11:51 AM UTC  The front side of the Nobel Prize medal awarded to US scientist James Watson in 1962. The front side of the Nobel Prize medal awarded to US scientist James Watson in 1962. EPA  by [Naina Bajekal](https://time.com/author/naina-bajekal/)  ## Naina Bajekal Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME. Dec 10, 2014 11:51 AM UTC One of the richest men in Russia, Alisher Usmanov, has come forward as the anonymous buyer of James Watson’s Nobel medal, which was sold for more than [$4 million at an auction at Christie’s in New York last week](http://time.com/3619174/james-watson-nobel-prize-medal-auction/). Usmanov, [who is worth an estimated $15.9 billion](http://www.forbes.com/profile/alisher-usmanov/), has now revealed he will return the piece to Watson who shared the 1962 Nobel prize in medicine for discovering the structure of DNA, alongside Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins. This was the first time a living recipient of the Nobel Prize has sold their medal. Watson told the [_Financial Times_](http://www.ft.com/cms/s/5fb47ebe-75bc-11e4-a1a9-00144feabdc0,Authorised=false.html?%5Fi%5Flocation=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F5fb47ebe-75bc-11e4-a1a9-00144feabdc0.html%3Fsiteedition%3Duk&siteedition=uk&%5Fi%5Freferer=#axzz3KO1BEfxi) in November that he had been spurned by the scientific community and made to feel like an “unperson” since he gave an interview in 2007 in which he [suggested that black people were inherently less intelligent than white people](http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/oct/21/race.research). Watson has [said](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/11261872/James-Watson-selling-Nobel-prize-because-no-one-wants-to-admit-I-exist.html) he needs the money but would also give some of the proceeds to different research institutions and charities and that he hopes to re-enter public life as a result. “A situation in which an outstanding scientist sells a medal recognizing his achievements is unacceptable,” Usmanov said in a [statement](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-09/richest-russian-buys-watson-s-nobel-medal-plans-to-return-it.html). “It is important for me that the money that I spent on this medal will go to supporting scientific research,” Usmanov added, “and the medal will stay with the person who deserved it.” **Read more:** [The mortification of James Watson](http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1673952,00.html) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3627466/watson-nobel-medal-russian-usmanov-auction/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3627466/watson-nobel-medal-russian-usmanov-auction/"},"headline":"This Billionaire Just Paid $4 million for a Nobel Medal Only to Give It Back to the Seller","datePublished":"2014-12-10T11:51:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:43:26.629Z","description":"The medal belonged to U.S. scientist James Watson who co-discovered DNA","url":"https://time.com/3627466/watson-nobel-medal-russian-usmanov-auction/","keywords":["russia"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3465821b02c59d57/69876deccd1bbae0d76f414c/james-watson-nobel-medal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Naina Bajekal","jobTitle":"Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/naina-bajekal/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3465821b02c59d57/69876deccd1bbae0d76f414c/james-watson-nobel-medal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Auction of Nobel Prize medal of James Watson","caption":"The front side of the Nobel Prize medal awarded to US scientist James Watson in 1962.","creditText":"EPA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/russia/","name":"russia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3627466/watson-nobel-medal-russian-usmanov-auction/","name":"This Billionaire Just Paid $4 million for a Nobel Medal Only to Give It Back to the Seller"}}]}] ```